Gwen laughed, “I think if you aren’t in, Africa? You’re safe from finding one. Unless it’s a random one somehow?” She wasn’t sure ho a dung beetle could show up in your house in Maine. On some cargo on a ship from across the sea? She stared at him, unable to believe how many he said. “I can’t imagine having six nieces and nephews.” She felt a little sad at Lottie not getting to know any cousins of her own, only having her as family. “I’d love to have a big family.” She smiled, wanting siblings for Lottie, wanting her to feel loved and safe in a family.

Gwen chuckled, “I agree with that, I don’t know what I’d do if I found one. Call the police??” She wasn’t sure they could help at all with it. Gwen wondered if it was busier with more kids, because Lottie often felt like a lot sometimes. “Gossip? Families gossip?” She asked with a laugh, wondering if foster homes and families were actually the same, but none of the foster parents ever made her feel welcomed.

Gwen laughed, “I don’t know, I’m going with sanitation,” She smirked, wondering if she was gifted with the dad jokes since Lottie’s father wasn’t around. “Do they gather in the kitchen and talk in hush hush voices?” she asked, remembering each time she came home long after everyone else, she’d sometimes find her foster parents, social worker, and whoever else wanted to tag along, talking in quiet tones until she walked in. It always meant the same thing, she was changing houses again.

Gwen closed her eyes at the memory, glad that Lottie wouldn’t know what that felt like, minus the few ladies at the jail who still judged you, but they were still stuck behind bars. She opened her mouth to respond when Lottie ran over.

“MOM! Can we keep him?” She asked, eyeing Markus from the side, but she hugged Buckly to her chest as she looked back at her mom for the answer.

“Sorry sweetie, his names Bucky, and he belongs to him, Markus.” She looked to Markus with an apology face, hoping Lottie wouldn’t go back to her funky mood now, and blame him for it.

Gwen held her breath as she waited for Lottie to answer, the little girl looking like she as thinking, and Gwen guessed she as trying to formulate a plan. “Don’t worry, Markus has promised to meet us at the park with Bucky again, she eyed Markys from the side, Lottie still not letting the dog go. “Tomorrow?” she shrugged her shoulders, knowing it as short notice but it as just a park visit, she’d understand if he couldn’t.

Gwen felt like hours were passing as they waited for Lottie to respond, she knew it as only seconds, but sometimes with her child time slowed way down.

“Okay. I guess.” Lottie said, holding out Bucky to Markus, a little sad smile on her face, but she was still in a better mood than when they arrived at the park.

Gwen sighed, standing up and holding her hand out to Lottie. “Time to go sweetie.” She turned to Markus with a big smile. “Thank you for letting Bucky and Lottie play. See you tomorrow then.” She felt a little happy at the thought of having someone other than her seven-year-old.

Lottie’s eyes lit up and she was bouncing around Gwen, talking about tomorrow, and the plans she had with Bucky. “Till tomorrow then.” she said, waving to Markus before heading towards the high school, looking over her shoulder one more time.

It didn’t take long for Lottie and Gwen to reach the high school. She unlocked the door to the main office building and found her way to her new office. “Now, I want you to sit her and draw me some pictures to decorate my office.” She pulled out plain paper and coloring books she had stashed here when she dropped off a box of things and poured out crayons for Lottie to color. Once she made sure Lottie would be set up, she closed the door and headed down the hallway to Aleah’s office, glad it wasn’t that far. She saw the door was opened, but didn’t step in, knocking on the opened door. “Hello.” She smiled, her mind thinking back to Markus for some reason.

Gwen smiled and stepped into Aleah’s office, “She’s just coloring some pictures back in my office,” She had found that if her daughter’s pictures were around the room, students opened up a little easier sometimes. “You said you had some paperwork for me?” She figured it was the usual paperwork you always fill out for a job, something that would take a few minutes for most people, but Gwen sometimes had trouble filling out, but that’s what Google was for.

“I’m sure when she gets tired of making art she’ll find her way down here,” Gwen as sure of it, Lottie had the attention span of a goldfish right now, nothing could keep her attention for longer than ten minutes. She sat down in front of Aleah’s desk and took the folder, opening it to find she had done just that. “Thank you.” She smiled softly, immediately getting to work on signing everything.

Gwen chuckled, “I love when life is easy,” it hadn’t been for a long time for her, but she was starting to realize she had done that to herself. She wished she had learned the lesson a long time ago, but it was a blessing in disguise, since she wouldn’t have had Lottie if she did most likely. She saw a slight frown on Aleah’s face and she worried it was something from her past. She’d been able to work with no issues of her time in Jail, but she couldn’t hold it against people if it turned them away. “Is something wrong with my paperwork?” She asked, hoping it wasn’t an invasion of her to ask.

“That sounds concerning, the late applications that is,” Gwen frowned herself a little, wondering just how many students Aleah considered was a lot. She wasn’t the only counselor on staff, but she always worried about there not being enough teachers for every student, having gone to a public school that held classrooms of forty or more students at a time. Twenty kids was a lot to handle, she didn’t understand why they tried cramming so many into one room for one teacher to handle by themself.

Gwen felt her stomach turn to stone at the thought that the rich could just buy their way into school, knowing that couldn’t happen to Lottie, but she would work hard to get hat she needed. “I guess if they donate so students have more options and chances…” She said, though it still didn’t sit well with her.

Gwen smiled and went back to signing her paperwork, but before she could sign the next line, Lottie ran past the door. Gwen waited, knowing Lottie saw them in here, but probably had too much steam going to slow down. Sure enough Lottie ran back in, holding a picture of her interpretation of Bucky.

“Mommy mommy! I drew the puppy, see?” Lottie held up the photo for her and Aleah to see.

Gwen looked down at the picture and did her best not to laugh, knowing she wouldn’t be able to draw Bucky well either. She loved it still, since Lottie had drawn it, “Aww, are you going to color it in?”

“Yes, but I wanted to show you.”

Lottie instantly hid a little behind Gwen’s back when Aleah spoke, but she was never a shy child. “It’s the puppy I got to play with this morning. A nice man let me carry him around the playground and said tomorrow he’d bring toys to play fetch!”

“Lottie has been wanting a dog for the last two years,” Gwen explained, having talked with Lottie every time at Christmas or her birthday, that a dog wasn’t feasible at the moment. “Hoping to get on in a couple of years.” She wasn’t sure the exact year, but she would find a way eventually to give Lottie what she wanted.